Fire and Emergency New Zealand told the Herald crews responded to 114 weather-related calls in Auckland between 5pm yesterday and 5am today. The fire service responded to 29 calls in Waikato, nine in the Bay of Plenty and three in Northland.
“Those jobs mostly consisted of powerlines down, trees down – lots of trees – and other wind-related things,” a spokesman said.
“There were a few roofs lifting as well.”
Upper north in clear as gales move south, snow warnings in place
MetService has forecast strong winds in exposed parts of Auckland today, however, strong wind warnings for the city and the upper north lapsed overnight.
Auckland was in line for partly cloudy conditions with isolated light showers throughout Monday, with a daily high of 17C. Tomorrow should be mainly fine with a chance of a shower while strong winds remain in the afternoon.
A strong wind watch will come into force for Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings and the Tararua District at 11am, lasting to midnight tonight.
Dunedin, Clutha, Southland south of Gore and Stewart Island/Rakiura will come under a watch from 1pm to 8pm. Areas under watches could see gales in exposed places and MetService said there was a chance it would upgrade these alerts to warnings.
Five alpine highways in the South Island were also under road snowfall warnings, including the Lewis Pass (State Highway 7), Arthurs Pass (SH73), Lindis Pass (SH8), Crown Range Rd and Milford Rd (SH94). Up to 7cm of snow was possible in places.
Storm’s impact lingers
Counties Energy, the lines company for South Auckland, said 370 households it supplies did not have any power this morning.
“Last night, our teams focused on making areas safe where powerlines were down and restoring power where possible. This morning the work continues with restoration expected to take most of the day, and in some cases into the night.”
The Auckland Harbour Bridge was closed intermittently throughout Sunday as the gales blasted the city. MetService recorded gusts up to 108km/h at 2pm.
Gusts at Auckland Airport reached 115km/h, MetService said.
Heavy rain and strong winds caused long delays at Auckland Airport, leaving frustrated passengers stranded on planes.
One passenger said she had been waiting in the baggage claim area for more than two hours after arriving from Sydney at 4.45pm.
She told the Herald the luggage wasn’t being unloaded from any of the planes due to the weather.
A spokeswoman for Auckland Airport told the Herald this morning the terminals and airfield were operating “as normal” today.
“We expect to see the terminals, particularly the domestic terminal, a little bit busier than normal as airlines teams rebook travellers on disrupted flights. If you’re travelling, please check for any updates from your airline.
“Everyone across the airport system is working hard to get people where they need to be today and we ask for travellers’ patience.”
Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren said the extreme wind conditions at the airport affected ground handling operations.
The airline would reposition aircraft and crew to resume normal operations over the next two days, she said.
“Our airport and customer teams are working hard to get customers on to their final destinations as quickly as possible, and we would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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